Sputnik Prototype

Operating System: Magic Cap 3 (Rosemary) Pros: Manly paint job. Same fit and finish as PIC1000, but custom second-gen guts inside. Cons: Same awful screen as as PIC1000. History Sputnik is distinctive, you must give it that. There were two color schemes: pink and purple. The custom was that pink ones ran the US English build of Magic Cap, whereas purple ran the Japan build. I don’t know if the colors were meant to challenge the masculinity of certain Magic Cap engineers, or just to dissuade people from stealing them.

Panasonic NeoNet

Operating System: Magic Cap 1.5 Pros: Great form factor – very slim. Cons: No rechargable battery. History Nobody wanted to admit to creating NeoNet. It was the nameless, parentless child of… who? Many devices didn’t have labels on them, and the labeled ones often had their names taped over. As it happens, the guilty party was Matsushita, parent company of Panasonic. I’m still unsure why they never wanted to admit it–maybe to save face if they decided to can the project.

Sony PIC-2000: "Oak"

Operating System: Magic Cap 1.5 Pros: Great backlit screen, two PC Card slots, great battery, superb fit and finish. Cons: Faster than PIC1000, but still slow. History PIC-2000/Oak was an eagerly awaited device within General Magic. You could tell a buzz was going through the building when the first in-plastic prototype arrived. Everyone had to see it, find out more about it. And rightly so: it was a fantastic machine.

Sony PIC-1000: "Cedar"

Operating System: Magic Cap 1.0 Pros: Great battery, great rubberized paint. Cons: Awful low-contrast screen, Extra-slow-mo user experience. History The PIC-1000 has rightfully earned its place as a groundbreaking handheld device. (And no, not “groundbreaking” in the sense that if you drop it on the ground, it might break.) It was groundbreaking in that the PIC-1000 was the first Magic Cap device to ship. It went out the door before I got to Magic, but I’ve heard plenty of stories about the 1.

Motorcycle Rider Training

Spring is upon us – albeit intermittently in Colorado – and the motorcycles are out, including mine. I started riding last October, and I started the best way possible: with a class.

Following is my experience with the MSF BasicRider course, including details on what we did, and what I got from it. I strongly encourage any motorcyclist, total newbie or experienced, to take this class. Heck, even if you’re just looking for something to do over a weekend, this is great fun in addition to being useful.

Motorola Envoy Models

Thanks to Wayne Sanderson for writing this FAQ entry.

Question: I know there are two kinds of Motorola Envoy. Which is which- How are they different physically? Internally?

Question: I want a Motorola Envoy equipped with MagicCap 1.5. I see ads for Motorola Envoys for sale every so often, but the sellers are either unwilling or unable to tell me which device they are selling. How can I tell the difference by just looking at a thumbnail snapshot?

Great Ideas in Computer Science: A Gentle Introduction

Back in my university days I had the great honor of contributing to one of my professor’s textbooks, Great Ideas in Computer Science by Dr. Alan Biermann. I contributed to the Simulations chapter, specifically pp. 198-202. I can’t say I’m proud of the code (or any code I wrote in school) but it sure was fun. The idea was modeling evolution with a genetic code that translated into operations (e.